Staples slips past Greenwich in FCIAC boys soccer quarterfinals

Eliot Schickler, Staff Writer

Updated
12:51 am EDT, Sunday, October 30, 2011

Patrick Santini, right, # 30 of Grenwich High School, kicks the ball downfield as Dylan Evans of Staples High School closes in, during boys high school soccer playoff between Staples High School and Greenwich High School at Staples, Friday afternoon Oct. 28, 2011. less

Patrick Santini, right, # 30 of Grenwich High School, kicks the ball downfield as Dylan Evans of Staples High School closes in, during boys high school soccer playoff between Staples High School and Greenwich ... more

Patrick Santini, right, # 30 of Grenwich High School, kicks the ball downfield as Dylan Evans of Staples High School closes in, during boys high school soccer playoff between Staples High School and Greenwich High School at Staples, Friday afternoon Oct. 28, 2011. less

Patrick Santini, right, # 30 of Grenwich High School, kicks the ball downfield as Dylan Evans of Staples High School closes in, during boys high school soccer playoff between Staples High School and Greenwich ... more

WESTPORT -- The dream for a fourth straight FCIAC title is alive and well for the Staples boys soccer team.

The fourth-seeded Wreckers kept themselves in the mix for another championship by edging Greenwich 1-0 in the FCIAC quarterfinals Friday at Albie Loeffler Field.

"It's an important win," Wreckers coach Dan Woog said. "We have only three starters back from last year's team, but a lot of our guys know what it's like (playing in FCIACs) by sitting on the bench. We want to get back to the (FCIAC) finals and we took an important first step."

Staples raised its record to 11-2-4 and will play the winner of top-seeded Norwalk and eighth-seeded New Canaan in the FCIAC semifinals Tuesday at Fairfield Ludlowe. Greenwich dropped to 9-5-3 and will find out its seeding for the Class LL tournament, which is slated to begin Nov. 8, next Friday.

Steve Smith scored the only goal of the game when he kicked home the rebound of David Hoffman's shot with 30:01 remaining in the first half. Hoffman took a shot off the right wing that Cardinals goalie Jake Leaman (six saves) made the initial stop on, but the rebound went straight to Smith, who booted it home.

"I was hanging out on top and the ball bounced out to me, and I kicked it into the top left corner of the net with my left foot," Smith said.

Max Hoberman started the run and passed it down to the line to Hoffman, and they were both credited with assists. Smith knew how important it was to score and did what he could to spring himself free.

"I had someone marking me but I was getting there," Smith said. "It was a great time to score and it gave us momentum for the rest of the half."

The Wreckers had a territorial advantage in the first half, outshooting the Cardinals, 6-4. Hoffman had three shots in the half.

While the first half belonged to Staples, Greenwich carried play in the second half and ended the game with a 15-13 edge in shots. Peter Zenner was aggressive for the Cardinals and had few opportunities on net, but was stymied by Wreckers' goalie James Hickok (10 saves).

"The better team lost today," Cardinals coach Kurt Putnam said. "We made one mistake and they capitalized on it. We didn't have any problems after they scored. Staples defense played well and you have to give them credit."

Luke Cofer and Marino Patrk played well defensively for Greenwich, helping fuel the Cardinals' attack. And the Cardinals were relentless. Zenner delivered a strong free kick that sailed wide and Emmett Clarke also pounded a free kick that Hickok caught. Mateo Gowald set up Zenner on a breakaway and Greenwich's junior rifled a shot, but Hickok made a diving save to preserve the lead.

"They shot a lot of direct kicks into the box and they had a tall kid who could head the ball and I had to be solid and on my game," Hickok said. "My defense played well today.

Despite the loss, Putnam remains optimistic about the future.

"We came a long way this year," Putnam said. "We're a young team. If we play like we did today and get a good draw, we can go far in Class LL."